lurkerlurker
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10 mins from the close. Who is long, who is short, and who is flat? Also, anyone care to post their net for the day, plus thoughts on future direction.
I'll start.
Flat. To embarrassed to post my net pips. Thoughts on future direction: above 400 for the forseeable future, generally bullish.
I'll start.
Flat. To embarrassed to post my net pips. Thoughts on future direction: above 400 for the forseeable future, generally bullish.
lurkerlurker
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Congratulations. A good short. I think I was one of your counterparties! (caught uncomfortably long at twice my usual stake - was long £1pp from 95, then £2pp from 81, covered at 50).
Atilla
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I think I'm through too today. Feel quite tired.
Going to watch James Bond kick some ass now...
Fist full of pips. Mustn't grumble. I'll come back for the safe tomorrow. :cheesy:
firewalker99
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Yip, have to admit me being on the long side a bit too often today
Well done everybody, and even if you didn't make a profit, I'm sure it will be all part of your learning process. Good evening everybody.
firewalker99
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Seems like a sensible thing to do.
Papertrading can be a challenge too, if you are putting yourself on the line on this forum it might still feel a bit like "real"...
lurkerlurker
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Yip, have to admit me being on the long side a bit too often today
Well done everybody, and even if you didn't make a profit, I'm sure it will be all part of your learning process. Good evening everybody.
A learning process indeed. You are the anti-Atilla. :-0
A philosophical point - less commissions, I am reminding myself that my trading activity was worthwhile in the sense that it transferred resources to better traders!
I'm sure you didn't get burned too badly while long. IIRC, you've been long for enough time that you've been wrong once, possibly at the top.
Good evening all.
lurkerlurker
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That is the point. Continue to share my progress, whilst being accountable for my decisions. I have not found paper trading useful before, however this time around posting trades live on a board containing actual traders would make it seem worthwhile. It is too easy to "cheat" a paper trade system, even in your own mind. There is no tangible reward. If I can demonstrate my progress here, while improving my confidence, it will be worthwhile. Given that I am losing on average £40 a day doing this, the lack of drawdowns will almost feel like a profit in itself!
Also, I want to keep my papertrading as real as possible. Same live posts to the threads here, same platform, same plan, hopefully the same reactions to good and bad trades as much as possible. To my great chagrin, CMC Markets only seem to offer a papertrading facility to prospective clients, limited to 14 days. I have a virtual account with TradIndex along with my real one, but I've stopped trading with them due to their HTML platform and wider spreads. I want the papertrading orders to be on an identical platform so I can develop the "reflex" trading described in so many books. (for example, where executing orders comes as easily and thoughtless as tying ones shoelaces when you have predetermined your entries and exits according to a plan). Any aesthetic difference between papertrading and the account I use when I return to live trading will diminish that. A gentleman at CMC is looking into it for me, but I don't anticipate being permitted to demo trade with them.
I have been advised that Capital Spreads offer a good demo platform, however I cannot be arsed with the whole AML rigmarole to open a new account with yet another SB firm. It looks like if I paper trade with TradIndex I'll trade with them again. The problem is they do not allow stop entries, OCO, and other types of order. They have absurd minimum stops which they implemented in December last year, just after I had managed to double my account thanks to trailing stops. I'm sorely tempted to chuck £5240 into TwoWayFutures and force myself not to lose more than £240 of it. Then again, I wouldn't be comfortable with trading full lots. FTSE Z's are £10pp and the YM is around £2.50pp with a nice topping of currency risk.
This is turning into another rant. CMC will email me tomorrow regarding the papertrading. Perhaps I could register for their demo account (since I didnt before opening a real account) and hope that papertrading for 2 weeks is sufficient.
Has anyone else here done SB with TradIndex, and if so any tips on avoiding the shortcomings of their platform? The only thing going for it is that I don't have to run a copy of Win2K in VMWare to use it!
I'm more determined than ever to improve my trading, even if only on paper.
I'm becoming a bit of a slave to it. In fact, I feel almost uncomfortably like Bella Wilfer -
"...think how terrible the fascination of money is! I see this, and hate this, and dread this, and don't know but that money might make a much worse change in me. And yet I have money always in my thoughts and my desires; and the whole life I place before myself is money, money, money, and what money can make of life!" (Our Mutual Friend, Book III, Ch IV)
firewalker99
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I know this post was directed at LL... but as anybody I'm always interested to learn something new or how to improve my trading. The weak point often is my exit strategy, have been trying to figure out a way to find the best equilibrium between not taking profits too early and not letting price return back to your entry point. I'm scaling out half of my position at my first target and then move my stop to breakeven. The second exit however is bit discretionary...
I'm unable to fall in love with trailing stops because in some days they will work excellent, in other days they will stop you out of a good trade with much more potential.
Any insights on "exits" always welcome
Edit: I think this might open an interesting discussion, so I started a new thread, specifically to talk about exits of trades! You can find it in the Styles & Strategies forum and I look forward to having a similar interesting discussion there as we have in here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/showthread.php?t=25049
lurkerlurker
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I know this post was directed at LL... but as anybody I'm always interested to learn something new or how to improve my trading. The weak point often is my exit strategy, have been trying to figure out a way to find the best equilibrium between not taking profits too early and not letting price return back to your entry point. I'm scaling out half of my position at my first target and then move my stop to breakeven. The second exit however is bit discretionary...
I'm unable to fall in love with trailing stops because in some days they will work excellent, in other days they will stop you out of a good trade with much more potential.
Any insights on "exits" always welcome
Edit: I think this might open an interesting discussion, so I started a new thread, specifically to talk about exits of trades! You can find it in the Styles & Strategies forum and I look forward to having a similar interesting discussion there as we have in here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/showthread.php?t=25049
I found your thread independently of this post and have already responded. On that point, I think Dr Elder Alexander's "Entries and Exits" makes for some good reading material on the subject. I'm sure you all want to spend some profit!
FW,
Not sure what you'd like to know. Looking at your post you seem to have a decent strategy...you know where your stops are,profit lock in's and targets etc etc.....
The main thing that screws up traders is having faith in their ability and not sticking to their plan...mental toughness.
Today I had a plan...if 13580 was broken i'm short,above high of day by 1pt i.m wrong and out...then manage it down to each expected level....13520 brakes so plan is correct...13480 is tested then bounces to 13520,again as expected .....What I call the 7pm indicator again confirmed being short...The market will normally rally the opposite way to the intended move after 7pm..this time we went up to 13510 before 7pm then down again breaking 13480 after 7pm....by now the market allready told us where it was going... down.Went down to 462 then rallied back up to 480..so sell more...again expected...All the time I know if it gets back above 510/20 i'm wrong...the exit...I had an eventual target of 13420 which we missed by 10 pts or so...of course I never knew any of this at 2.30 pm...but all the time felt in control and emotionless.
LL unfortunately is letting the market control him and he's emotion.Changing this only comes with experience and being confident in your own strategies...Confidence is important and can get shot to bits when chasing trades to make up for losses
Apologies,but this is sounding like a pyschobabble rant....not ment to..
Not sure what you'd like to know. Looking at your post you seem to have a decent strategy...you know where your stops are,profit lock in's and targets etc etc.....
The main thing that screws up traders is having faith in their ability and not sticking to their plan...mental toughness.
Today I had a plan...if 13580 was broken i'm short,above high of day by 1pt i.m wrong and out...then manage it down to each expected level....13520 brakes so plan is correct...13480 is tested then bounces to 13520,again as expected .....What I call the 7pm indicator again confirmed being short...The market will normally rally the opposite way to the intended move after 7pm..this time we went up to 13510 before 7pm then down again breaking 13480 after 7pm....by now the market allready told us where it was going... down.Went down to 462 then rallied back up to 480..so sell more...again expected...All the time I know if it gets back above 510/20 i'm wrong...the exit...I had an eventual target of 13420 which we missed by 10 pts or so...of course I never knew any of this at 2.30 pm...but all the time felt in control and emotionless.
LL unfortunately is letting the market control him and he's emotion.Changing this only comes with experience and being confident in your own strategies...Confidence is important and can get shot to bits when chasing trades to make up for losses
Apologies,but this is sounding like a pyschobabble rant....not ment to..
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firewalker99
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FW,
I'm sorry for being a muppet
it's okay
when you get around it and have to time feel free to share some inputs
firewalker99
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Yes, confidence. Good point there!
Lurker, I would papertrade my system for a week or two and see what it brings out. If you can follow your plan and the results are good, then I think you'll already be adopting a whole different attitude to the market and be much more relaxed while putting real money on the line.
Atilla
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I think anti-Atilla is a little strong LL. I think of firewalker as my friend Jimmy Cricket
This week I just about recovered last weeks -200 pip loss. If only I listened to FW's wise words then... Today was really good. Whole host of teddies came out for their picnic. They are the clever bears waking up from their hibernation and coming out to play and didn't they just rock...
hobby
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It's official: The Dow & Dax are now getting on my tits.
I ought to be happy that the futs are up strongly this morning (I'm flat & took a lot of points out the DAX), but actually this morning's rise while being fairly predicatable (ie in the absence of any Asian panic last night) ...is just a little wearying.
Let's put this into context, Dow only fell 84.52 points yesterday (albeit I accept it was a whacking intra day swing) .....this morning the futs are up about 50 points. Therefore a net loss of about 30 points from yesterday...that's cack all!
These dip buyers really need to be given some tough love to get the US indices back on a more orderly tack.
I ought to be happy that the futs are up strongly this morning (I'm flat & took a lot of points out the DAX), but actually this morning's rise while being fairly predicatable (ie in the absence of any Asian panic last night) ...is just a little wearying.
Let's put this into context, Dow only fell 84.52 points yesterday (albeit I accept it was a whacking intra day swing) .....this morning the futs are up about 50 points. Therefore a net loss of about 30 points from yesterday...that's cack all!
These dip buyers really need to be given some tough love to get the US indices back on a more orderly tack.
